"New" policy for Princess & CC meet & greets

[DrivesLikeMario]

I've never seen anything more than a bartender and bar waiter in the Princess M&Gs. I've been to some where the officers were personally invited by handwritten invitation and still didn't come. No biggie - I'm sure they had more important things to do.

Edited December 12, 2013 by DrivesLikeMario

[Pia1913]

I've never seen anything more than a bartender and bar waiter in the Princess M&Gs.

 

Something's wrong somewhere, because I have never not seen anyone show up at any Princess M & G if they were invited. Sometimes only one or two, but never ever nobody. And I've attended a whole lot of them.

[OCruisers]

If all you've ever seen at a M&G is a bar staff, that means your coordinator didn't formally invite the others.

 

:D Sure, we've had officers, etc. attend ... but they never provided beverages or food. Only the bar staff in case we wanted to buy a drink.

 

LuLu

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[mafig]

I have NEVER gotten a free drink at a M &G on Holland. Who is your contact? I'd like to know for the future.

 

 

I've only been on two Holland America cruises. But at both we had drinks. First one was order anything from the bar and the second was champagne and blood marys. All of the CC members were also invited to the VIP cocktail party. :) It's been a few years, so perhaps nothing is done now.

 

I was on a Norwegian cruise where everyone was invited to a bridge tour.

Edited December 12, 2013 by mafig

[Shogun]

Hi All

Princess does like to have some one attend CC meets

However often they are on the first sea day at 10.00am

 

Just when everyone is at meetings or Captain doing weddings

 

Have had meets with no officers others with 16 crew chatting away but that was a crossing with loads of sea days

 

Yours Shogun

 

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Forums mobile app

[Pia1913]

:D Sure, we've had officers, etc. attend ... but they never provided beverages or food. Only the bar staff in case we wanted to buy a drink.

 

LuLu

~~~~

 

This is what you previously posted:

 

 

A bartender and a waiter is all we've ever seen at a Princess M&G.

Since it's only an hour, we've never missed not having snacks.

 

LuLu

 

No, Princess does not provide food.

[PhillyCruiser]

If the meeting is before a meal, many members go off to eat together. That's my experience.

[Pam in CA]

Something's wrong somewhere, because I have never not seen anyone show up at any Princess M & G if they were invited. Sometimes only one or two, but never ever nobody. And I've attended a whole lot of them.

I've been to M&G where they were invited but no one even responded much less showed up. Can't remember which cruises but there were several over the last few years. :(

 

I've only been on two Holland America cruises. But at both we had drinks. First one was order anything from the bar and the second was champagne and blood marys. All of the CC members were also invited to the VIP cocktail party. :) It's been a few years, so perhaps nothing is done now.

You sure the coordinator hadn't ordered/paid for the drinks themselves? I've seen that happen and people thought HAL provided everything.

[mafig]

:(

 

You sure the coordinator hadn't ordered/paid for the drinks themselves? I've seen that happen and people thought HAL provided everything.

 

 

Yes, I am very sure.

[bhopal21]

I have never seen anything but a bartender and waiter.

 

Same for us Paul.

 

And I might add we really don't expect or need much other than a place to meet with a bartender.

 

Mike:)

[Times Prince]

Here's a recent response I received in booking a CC meet & greet with Princess...

 

Booking a Cruise Critic Group is usually arranged as a No Host Bar which means each passenger will be responsible for their own drinks. NO complimentary food will be provided but you are more than welcome to order from our party pricelist.

 

This is the first time I've ever been told that nothing will be provided other than setting up space. In the past there has been a minimum of danish with coffee and juice in the AM and coffee and water with cookies in the afternoon.

This is nothing new. Here is the response received from Princess about a year ago.

 

I will be more than happy to arrange your Meet and Greet aboard the xxxxxxxxxxx Princess sailing Jan. xx 2013.

 

Booking a Cruise Critic Group is usually arranged as a No Host Bar which means each passenger will be responsible for their own drinks. We do not provide any food but you are more than welcome to order from our party price list.

 

Before reserving space, we need a couple of information:

• Who will be the designated escort or main contact for the Cruise Critics Group?

• How many attendees for the Meet & Greet?

• What date and time preference would you like to have the party take place?

 

Please revisit me again at the beginning of January for the updated crew member list for your voyage. We usually receive the crew list every 1st of the month with updated names.

 

- the text above is from emails which I received from a Princess Group Services Coordinator

 

The updated crew list differed in some cases from the emails sent to all passengers, and by issuing personal invitations as soon as I boarded ship, we had several ship's officers show up. Many, however were not able to because of weddings and other events which conflicted. The M&G was scheduled in Skywalker's and there were plenty of waiters and bar staff around for our group and other passengers who were in the lounge.

Edited December 13, 2013 by Times Prince

[Jim Avery]

On Star recently it was cash bar. Same on Cunard's Queen Victoria last year. I want a meet and greet with free drinks!!!!:eek::D:D

Edited December 13, 2013 by Jim Avery

[Ethel5]

On Star recently it was cash bar. Same on Cunard's Queen Victoria last year. I want a meet and greet with free drinks!!!!:eek::D:D

 

Didn't your Mama tell you that you don't always get what you want?:D

[IECalCruiser]

On the Island in January we had about 25-30 on the Roll Call. We held an M&G at 11:00am and many whet to the DR for lunch afterward. A number if staff showed up as it was on the way to lunch :)

[Loonbeam]

I happened to be talking to one of my old contacts at Princess, and mentioned the thread..

 

Here's the long and short of it. If Princess provides food/drink for a CC meet and greet, they pretty much have to provide the same for any group that asks for a private group space,which can not only be costly but get into some tricky judgement areas as to which groups would 'qualify' . So as a corporate policy the answer has been no for a long time.

 

CDs and/or Hotel staff can OFFER or provide beverages out of shipboard budget if they feel there is a valid reason.

[Jim Avery]

[/color]

 

Didn't your Mama tell you that you don't always get what you want?:D

 

Yes but my Wife always tells me I can have it all!:D:D Amazing what a trip to the jewelry store will do.:eek::D

[windsor26]

The 10 or so meet and greets with Princess that I have organised have always had non bar refreshments and the officers who visited us every time partook of these teas and coffees as well and were happy to have them

 

I wonder if it is because Princess NOW have their own M&G via the other site f******k ?:D

[Cruzin-K]

If all you've ever seen at a M&G is a bar staff, that means your coordinator didn't formally invite the others.

 

Our coordinator invited several of the ship's officers. What we got was a Customer Relations Mgr, or something like that - I don't remember his exact title but definitely not one of the senior officers. However, two of the performers on the cruise, the husband and wife team of Hawley Magic did come to the party, and they stayed the whole time - really nice of them, and their show later in the week was amazing.

 

We did have a bartender and waiter, and we kept them hopping :D

 

On my first ever Princess cruise on the Ruby Princess it was totally different. We had the Captain (Tony Yeoman), Cruise Director (Lisa Ball), Maitre D' (Generoso) and a few others I can't remember, maybe the Hotel Director. I was very impressed that so many of them showed up. Capt. Tony gave a really nice, funny speech.

 

We didn't get any food at either party.

[windsor26]

Further to my email, I am pleased to advise you that the ship has just come back confirming the Marquis Dining room as the venue for your Meet and Greet.

 

MEET & GREET REQUEST

Ship: Sun Princess

Cruise #: S108

Number of Passengers: 43 to date

Group Leader: ....

Date: 04 May 2011

Time: 9.00am - This will not interfere with Trivia and lectures.

Location: Marquise Dining Room

 

Extra Request: Sectioned off area at a bar to meet with senior staff.

Yvonne, the ship is unable to provide you in advance the senior staff names due to security reasons, the coordinator of your event onboard has advised he will inform the senior officers of this event and to meet with you at the Marquis Dining room either during or after your meet and greet at 9.00am. Please note, the attendances of the senior staff may not be guaranteed due to other commitments they have onboard.

 

(list of passenger names and cabin nos.)

 

I will pass on the passenger names onto the ship once I have the final number, this can be provided to me anytime before we get closer to departure or once you have the final number for refreshment allocations. If you have a cruise critic logo, please also send this through.

 

Apologies for any inconvenience caused.

 

 

This is how I have always been replied to and the refreshments have been good and separate invitations given on 3 occasions by Princess themselves

[beachseeker]

I want a meet and greet with free drinks!!!!:eek::D:D

 

Cruise with Azamara! Alcohol, food, Captain, Hotel Director, CD, and several other officers. Great Meet and Mingle.

[Pam in CA]

Cruise with Azamara! Alcohol, food, Captain, Hotel Director, CD, and several other officers. Great Meet and Mingle.

Thanks for the suggestion. However, meeting my fellow roll call members is more important than meeting officers or having free booze. While nice to be able to say I've met them, it doesn't make my cruise any better or worse as they will undoubtedly, and very promptly, forget who the heck I am. There are some who like to schmooze with the officers. I'm not one of them as I'm not looking for attention or any special favors. It's the roll call members who have made my cruises more enjoyable and memorable, and with whom I look forward to cruising with again. Edited December 13, 2013 by Pam in CA

[ontheweb]

My experience with meet and greets on various lines

 

On the Star Princess in the Baltics with a very small roll call, we set up our own breakfast meet. But, then we also saw a cruisecritic meet and greet on the patter. Almost no one attended because some did not believe it. The cruise director's wife hosted it. The cruise director got there a little later as he was detained answering questions. Champagne was provided.

 

On the HAL Noordam in the Eastern Mediterranean, I set up a meet and greet working with HAL. They offered milk and cookies. They did provide the cookies, but actually provided one round of drinks (mimosas) instead of milk.

 

On the NCL Epic in the Western Mediterranean, NCL did send 2 officers. IIRC, one was in charge of entertainment, and the other in charge of food. BTW, this one was very poorly attended. Even the poster who set it up did not attend!

[Ethel5]

Yes but my Wife always tells me I can have it all!:D:D Amazing what a trip to the jewelry store will do.:eek::D

 

Do you have an available brother? I love jewelry!:D

[earljr]

Thanks for the suggestion. However, meeting my fellow roll call members is more important than meeting officers or having free booze. While nice to be able to say I've met them, it doesn't make my cruise any better or worse as they will undoubtedly, and very promptly, forget who the heck I am. There are some who like to schmooze with the officers. I'm not one of them as I'm not looking for attention or any special favors. It's the roll call members who have made my cruises more enjoyable and memorable, and with whom I look forward to cruising with again.

 

all of the above ---me too:)

Edited December 13, 2013 by earljr

[Luv Cruising Land or Sea]

Thanks for the suggestion. However, meeting my fellow roll call members is more important than meeting officers or having free booze. While nice to be able to say I've met them, it doesn't make my cruise any better or worse as they will undoubtedly, and very promptly, forget who the heck I am. There are some who like to schmooze with the officers. I'm not one of them as I'm not looking for attention or any special favors. It's the roll call members who have made my cruises more enjoyable and memorable, and with whom I look forward to cruising with again.

 

Pam

 

I completely agree - on our last two Princess cruises we had good M&G's - both were great and NO Officers or FOOD - we did have a cash bar available and that was utilized by most. On our last cruise I was the organizer - and received the same message from Princess as already - posted re: no host bar, no food, and officers IF they were available. We struck up a conversation with our CD Lisa Ball the nite before and she did come to welcome everyone but like you it's about meeting the people we have been "chatting" with NOT about meeting the officers who are not going to remember us 5 minutes later.

 

CC members are special to each other and in many regards important to the Cruise Lines because they value our opinions as "seasoned" cruisers. At one M&G (on the Ruby Inaugural) the Captain came and addressed the very large group and told us he DOES follow the roll call chatter and values it - he even made some reference comments on a topic that had been discussed.

 

At the end of the day we have M&G (or M&M) because we want to have face time with the people we have come to know while preparing for our cruises - some of which we will continue to have relationships with (unlike the staff) - having staff or refreshments is a nice bonus but not a given or a requirement. Just my few cents!